Administration Assistant

Job overview

The Administration Assistant will carry out a range of administrative duties as required within the Health Records Department at Velindre Cancer Centre.

By the nature of the duties, the post holder will be required to maintain strict confidentiality.

The post holder will be expected to deal with staff, patients, carers and relatives with courtesy and discretion at all times.

This post is fixed term/secondment for 7 months. If you are interested in applying for the secondment position, you must obtain permission from your current line manager prior to applying for this post. PLEASE NOTE Applicants will need to get permission from their line manager before submitting their interest, a release form to be included with your application form can be downloaded  here. (This form is for the staff member and line manager to complete and return to you)

Main duties of the job

The individual will play a key role in delivering a high quality service at Velindre Cancer Centre.

The post holder will form part of a team providing a comprehensive administration service including registration and scheduling for patient’s appointments and treatments.

Administrative tasks associated with managing Health Records Library.

Using self management to manage and prioritise time and workload, working primarily independently and on own initiative with minimal supervision to carry out the duties of the post working closely and communicating effectively and working closely with the other members of clinical and administrative teams.

Being able to organise workload without supervision, adapting daily work plan to meet rapidly changing priorities where the workload is unpredictable.

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Planning, Communication

• Ensure that all patients are registered accurately on the Trust’s computerised system to agreed timescales.
• Check patient demographic and GP details are correct on the system and amend as necessary.
• Acting on instruction from the consultant, liaise with the patient to ensure a suitable appointment date and time.
• Schedule patient’s treatment and out-patient appointments using the current Trust’s IT systems.
• Confirm appointment date and time on WPAS and send appointment letter if relevant.
• Liaise with consultants and medical secretaries to arrange and manage booking rules.
• Action any cancellations immediately and re-appoint where necessary as instructed by consultant.
• Provide effective communication of any relevant information to those responsible for preparing out-patient and treatment clinics.
• To help maintain excellent communication links with all departments
• Work as part of a team to improve the performance of the department.
• Participate in the training and support of new staff.
• Track all records handled as appropriate.
• Provide cover for colleagues as requested.
• Attend mandatory training.
• Use the Trust’s IT systems as required to undertake a range of duties.
• Be able to adapt to change in ways of working as necessary.
• To ensure that the booked outpatient appointment is made as per clinical instruction.
• Ensuring attention to detail when booking appointments, checking patient are booked into the correct slots and the correct information is sent regarding where, when and how to attend (ie face to face or virtually).
• The post holder would be expected to use the Trust’s Patient Administration System (WPAS) and electronic patient record (Welsh Clinical Portal – WCP).
• The post holder will be required to contribute to the patient medical record by clearly documenting any patient contact, such as telephone conversations.
• To be responsible for the use of WPAS to create referrals, book and process outpatient appointments, to support the patient pathway to be tracked and managed efficiently.
• To be responsible for accurately booking phlebotomy appointments as required.
• Develop and maintain effective communication skills to ensure a high quality service is provided when liaising with patients, GP’s and all other internal and external contacts to ensure patient’s appointments are made appropriately.
• To maintain good communication with health professionals and other groups within the Trust to ensure that patients receive appropriate and timely care.
• To give advice or assist or pass on information to Patients, relatives, internal/external colleagues based on department protocol and procedures.
• Receive and take relevant action on telephone calls and emails enquiries, liaising with internal and external sources to resolve any problems, queries or delays where appropriate.
• Ensure that when handling patient information or discussing patient needs, confidentiality guidelines are strictly adhered to and that close attention is given to the Trust’s Confidentiality Policy and Information Governance guidelines.
• To be able to concentrate in a noisy and distracting environment for prolonged periods
• Develop and maintain skills to deal with conflict remaining calm and professional at all times.
• The post holder works within well-defined boundaries, using initiative to make planning decisions as required. They will have access to manager / Team Leader at all times.
• To be responsible for assisting in the training of new staff. To be a supportive team member, and offer on-going support and advice.
• Assist in the review of office protocols and working practices when and where necessary within Outpatient Appointment Booking Team to co-ordinate any changes and implement effectively.
• Any other duties as delegated by the Health Records Manager as appropriate to the grading of the post.
• Ensure own mandatory training is undertaken for non-clinical staff (such as safe moving and handling, fire prevention etc) and attend other relevant training programmes to keep up to date.
• Take part in the Personal Development Review process, identifying own training needs for continued personal development.
• Communication/working relationship with patients, consultants, medical and clinical staff, general practitioners, administrative colleagues, outpatient nursing staff, all staff throughout Health Records Department. other hospitals and members of the public.
• Manage own email inbox daily, actioning and/or escalating tasks as required within the day.
• Managing Team ActionPoint (request service), actioning and/or escalating as required within the day.
• Managing own phone lines, answering queries and returning answerphone messages daily. Ensuring own phone lines is covered during core hours of 8am to 5pm and breaks by liaising with colleagues.
• Advanced keyboard skills for accurate input of appointment dates, consultation methods, appointment letters etc
• Take part in surveys and audits as and when required.
• May be required to book urgent patient appointments using WPAS.

Improvement and Monitoring

• Comply with procedures relating to incident reporting and ensure that information is recorded accurately. Reporting all incidents via Datix to ensure they can be accurately tracked
• Contribute to the development of procedures where appropriate.
• Propose changes in own work areas in conjunction with the Team Leader/Health Records Manager.
• Follow Standard Operating Procedures, Policies and Processes for own role and Department.
• Responsible for reporting defective equipment to the Team Leader.
• Observe personal duty of care when using equipment.
• Ensure monies are handed to consultants and donations logged as received and passed to finance.
• Responsible for only undertaking duties within remit of role.
• Escalate any discrepancy in resource to the Team Leader immediately.

Training

• Provide support and guidance and demonstrate day-to-day duties to new staff.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with own Mandatory and Statutory training.
• Responsible to ensure cover notes in place and updated for own role in the event cover is required for sickness or annual leave to ensure service provision maintained.

Digital and Information

• Accurately record all patient details and activity on clinical systems Welsh Clinical Portal (WCP) and Welsh Patient Administration System (WPAS).
• Responsible for accurately tracking all physical Medical Notes using WPAS.
• Responsible to adhere to the standards associated with the legislation, regulations and Trust Policies and Procedures
• Compliance and adherence to all Trust and Departmental Policies and Procedures.
• Manage workload unsupervised and prioritise work on a day to day basis escalating any complex issues as appropriate (eg Medical Secretary, Team Leader, Clinical/Medical colleagues).
• Support and guide junior staff in their tasks to ensure comprehensive and accurate cover across the team in relation to own role.
• Responsible for carrying out any other duties that may reasonably required within the remit of your role to ensure service provision maintained.